Edwards linked to subprime foreclosures

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has investing ties to subprime lenders who are foreclosing on victims of Katrina, according to a report published Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said there are 34 homes in New Orleans that face foreclosure from the subprime unit of Fortress Investment Group. Edwards has about $16 million in Fortress (Charts), a hedge fund and private equity manager, the newspaper said.

Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina, has been a vocal critic of subprime lenders and told the Journal that he would assist homeowners in New Orleans who face foreclosure from businesses linked to Fortress or who have already lost their homes.

"I intend to help these people," he told the newspaper. The report also said he would divest any Fortress funds in his portfolio that are invested in subprime lenders that filed the foreclosures. "I will not have my family's money invested in these firms," the Journal quoted him as saying.

Rising defaults among subprime mortgages - those home loans given to borrowers with the weakest credit records - has triggered a credit crunch and resulted in a wave of foreclosures.